Well after many trips to the music stores around town, looking at things I could and couldn't afford I finally ordered my second guitar. My new Dean Vendetta should be in my hands in a few weeks. One thing for sure is I don't think I could say enough good things about our music store here in Akron, Lentine's Music. These guys never pressured me or made me feel like I couldn't play (which is almost the truth). Also took a chance and talked a better deal than the sticker price they had on it. So I got a new guitar on order, a hard case for the guitar and they will do a complete setup on the guitar when it comes in for me to my liking. On top of that they will do a setup on my squire strat for the cost of the replacement strings. I also bought the strat from these guys. After playing a bit and working on more barr chords I realized that the action was higher than I would like it to be so they said to bring it in and they will fix it up. Works for me! So now I'm charged up and waiting. Just hope I don't have to fight off my 12 yr old when he gets a chance to play it. I have a feeling he will like it as much as I do.
Shopping for a new guitar is not a stress free process, and even more so for us beginners!!! When a salesman walks up and hands you a guitar off the wall and says play it, your stomach imediately gets tight as if your now on stage. At least these guys made me feel comfortable there even with my few riffs and allowed me to play whatever I could without any type of critisism. Problem was finding things I liked that were in my budget. The Dean Vendetta fit the bill in all respects, for me at least. Now I sit and wait. Play my strat when I can. Hmm, now I have to start looking into another amp.
Through all of this I realized a few things. Guitars have a tremendous markup and there is some barganing room at most stores. Check out prices everywhere even online. Make the store a FAIR offer and they may just take it. I'm a believer in supporting your local store as much as possible and know I could never get the treatment I do from an online retailer. I'm sure I have alot more buying to do and my local store will be seeing those dollars.
Just thought I would share that.
Denis
8)
Nothing beats having a local shop with people you trust.
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
You could invite all of us from here over and we'll get it broke-in for you.
Joe
forrok_star:
Consider yourself invited. Only I live on a small farm and all chores have to be done before playtime. We still have second cutting hay that has to be made and put up in the barn. Scared yet? ha ha. I think the drive alone would have you turning back. We actually have to dodge Amish buggies out here.
Denis
Denis,
Man, I know how you feel. I bought my Artic White MIM Telecaster 2 weeks ago and now have 3 more weeks to wait for it to arrive. You are right about ticket price versus actual price paid. For a little over the price on the tag I also got a Roland Cube 15 Amp, hard case, Fender strap, Planet Waves lead and a stand. I have also since ordered a black pickguard for it and they will put it on for me when I pick it up. As this is my first electric it was hard having the amp in my spare room and just looking at it. I have been lucky now though as a friend has lent me his electric 'til mine arrives.
Cheers,
Kingsley
king07:
Good for you! This is my second guitar so I still have my squire strat to play until my dean comes in. I am however, starring at an empy hard case waiting to have it filled so it is similar. ha ha I knew going in that I would be waiting for the guitar so I expected this.
Denis
I could have gotten a display model at another store, but I really wanted a brand new one out of the box. So I thought being patient and waiting was the way to go. I also found that the service provided at the store I went with was vastly superior and a bit closer to home for future visits.
2 weeks 5 days and counting,
Kingsley
Congrats on the new guitar :)
And yeah, most price tags are wayyy higher than what they expect to get.
Take the list price, and then half of it is around what the music store pays for it. (like guitar center for example) So you got a 1000 dollar guitar, they probably payed 500-600 bucks for it.
So you got a 1000 dollar guitar, they probably payed 500-600 bucks for it.
Yes, but that's only half the story. Each item, sold by the shop, has to carry a portion of the costs of running the shop. A guitar costs relatively little (in terms of overheads), if it is coming in and going straight back out to a customer. A guitar, that hangs on the wall for months, is costing money every day, just to keep it there.
The shop generally has rent, employees salaries, utilities, telephone to pay and office supplies, computers, etc. to pay for. All of those costs eat into the gross profit (selling price minus buying price). So high ticket items, which turn over more slowly than low ticket items, will bear a large portion of the brunt of overheads.
At the end of the day, that $400-500 "profit" may be cut, by overheads, to $200-250.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Greybeard:
I fully understand and respect the fact that the local shop has to make money to stay in buisiness. Which is why I offered a fair price for the guitar and case that still allowed for a decent profit, which in turn allows me to get decent service!! Besides, I don't think I could ever bring myself to buy a guitar from an online retailer. Not being able to talk to someone face to face about a possible problem bothers me.
Denis
Cool man, Vendettas really rock! Might I ask which one you got?
Boudreau,
I was replying more to Tasos post than anything. I certainly wasn't knocking you for haggling, I do it all the time.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Yeah, I know all that greybeard, was simply stating how much they usually pay for it.
No problem, I don't take offense very easily so I didn't even pick up on that.
Arjen: I ordered the Vendetta 1 in natural finish. I played the black one at the store and loved the sound and feel. But the natural finish really caught my eye the minute I saw pictures of it on the web so I ordered that one. It will be two weeks before I get it acording to the store manager. They will do a complete setup to my liking before I take it home, so that was an added plus.
Denis
Congrats to you Boudreau!
I'm in this boat too now albeit in a much smaller and shorter scale. I'm waiting for a tele copy to arrive in the mail after an ebay auction. Its just a kit guitar that this guy built and has decided to sell but its my first electric. I figured I couldn't go very wrong for $56. Its even a lefty!
I'm hoping its here for the weekend but I'm not counting on it.
Tom
